None of the three main parties have spelled out exactly how they intend to tackle the towering deficit – the largest in the G7 group of industrialised nations. Their vagueness on tax rises and spending cuts is deliberate, because plain speaking would be political suicide.

Earlier this week the Institute for Fiscal Studies slammed all three parties for failing to come clean and let the electorate decide which was the least unpalatable strategy. The cuts, it said, would be the biggest retrenchment since the UK had to go to the IMF in 1976 – and that is the least-worst outlook.

The leaders have also stayed quiet on their plans for VAT. A rise would push up prices and hit the poorest hardest – but it would also raise big money and must be under consideration.

Is Britain the new Greece?

Greece is waiting for international help to solve its debt crisis – or it faces the real prospect of defaulting, which would leave Athens unable to borrow. This week there are signs of the much-feared contagion – Portugal and Spain have both had their credit ratings cut .

George Osborne has said that the UK risks a "Greek-style crisis", while the Lib Dems' Vince Cable thinks the Greek problems are "a salutary warning". Lord Mandelson, however, says comparing the UK to Greece is "frankly ridiculous".

The countries are running similar levels of deficit, but the UK is a far larger economy and not in the eurozone. The UK has an AAA credit rating, while Greek bonds are now rated as junk.

What will you do about the banks?

Voters want the banks reined in, to ensure there is no repeat, ever, of the 2008 crisis, to force them to repay the cash used to prop them up and to ensure they lend to businesses. Many voters also want action to cut bankers' pay.

The Tories and Lib Dems want big banks split in two, so that run-of-mill retail banks and "casino" investment banks are separate. Labour doesn't agree that small is better and thinks so called "living wills" are sufficient.

All three main parties want a levy on the banks to ensure they repay some of the taxpayers' billions that have propped them up, but only the Tories are willing to impose such a tax without international agreement.

A tricky one – any attack is a vote-loser among public-sector workers, hence its absence from the manifestos. Both the Tories and Lib Dems have called for cuts in the past, but now they want a review. Labour believes cost-sharing is enough.

How big is the problem? Some say it is a trillion-pound black hole, others say it is largely budgeted for. But as workers live longer, current pensions will become increasingly unaffordable.

Another painful one – but the answer is probably yes. Would-be homebuyers are excluded from the market because of high prices but, there again, property is a store of wealth for many homebuyers, and an alternative to savings, shares and pensions. Don't expect any politicians to be suggesting measures to force prices down any time soon.